Take Up the Fight: Standing in the Way of the Wolf

Stepping into the University coffee shop this morning for my grande sugar-free iced latte, I overheard two young women discussing, “how great God’s love is for us!” One of them spoke in animated tones about this topic from one of yesterday’s lectures. She was so excited about the resulting classroom discussion that she just had to share the story with her friend!

I love that. We used to say, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” This young woman was knowingly or unknowingly spreading the flame of God’s love to those around her. It sparked a reaction of thoughts and feelings in me just hearing her passion on the subject spoken aloud in a public place. I’m curious to know who else around her it may have affected.

This is why I love working with students. It’s their energy that impacts me the most. They have not lost their wonder. Their eyes are still starry with excitement over the big and small things in life. I find it encouraging and refreshing… a privilege to be in their space. 

But life can get heavy, and they carry more than we realize, so I pray for them to keep their heads up, eyes lifted… for Christ to be their hope, and for that hope to be renewed every single day. 

This hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil [of the heavenly temple, that most Holy Place in which the very presence of God dwells].

Hebrews 6:19 AMP

My heart has been heavy for my 10th grade small group girls this week as they navigate through school, relationships, and home life. Some weeks are harder for them than others, and this has been a hard week. My prayers have been full of their names and faces as I seek to go “all in” with them this semester. 

What came to mind as I prayed for them early this morning is, “the Good Shepherd protects His sheep.” That thought from the Holy Spirit fueled prayers of protection over my girls as I prayed for them like I would my own children. Standing in my authority as a parent or as a small group leader, what can I do to hinder or block everything the enemy wants to do in their lives?

If I have anything to say about it… and I have been given the right through Christ to speak in prayer on their behalf… the enemy cannot have them, in Jesus’ name. They belong to the Lord, so he has no rights over them whatsoever. No right to speak to them or approach them. No right to plant his thoughts in their heads. No right to even look in their direction! They are hidden with Christ in God, and that is where they will remain, no matter what it looks like on the shadowy surface of things.

In this way, I wield the Shepherd’s staff in defense of their young lives.

I’m not the Good Shepherd, that’s Jesus. I ask Him to work through me when it comes to those He has placed in my care because they don’t need me, they need Him. No fight or effort I can bring to the table has any power without His Spirit coming through the middle of it. And in all my human attempts, I don’t want to fail them… or Him.

It’s not my responsibility to win the war, or even to produce my own weapons (Psalm 44:1-3)… but when the going gets tough, will I enter into the fight, or will I run away like a hired hand and abandon my flock?

The bible says… 

“I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:11-15

Now, these verses are speaking about “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” or a false teacher, but that is not how we are applying them today. For our purposes, we are discussing how the Good Shepherd protects His sheep, and how we must do the same.

The Father is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for us, His sheep. He goes to every length to protect us, and to wield His great and powerful sword against the enemy for us… and we can do the same for our loved ones.

The wolf comes to scatter the sheep away from family and away from God. The wolf, our enemy, only comes to steal, kill, and destroy… and that is his plan for our children, as well. It comes in the forms of fear and doubt… hopelessness and unbelief… worldliness and self-righteousness. It comes in the form of outside attacks of rejection, gossip, abuse, or illness. It even comes in sneaky forms of hidden substance abuse, sneaking out at night, seemingly harmless TV shows and video games, or friends who do not have their best interests at heart.

Life can be terrifying as a parent of teens and young adults. Sometimes it seems like one wrong move will take them out of this life for good. And other times it’s like they are willfully choosing to throw their lives away.

What can we do?

Don’t Abandon the Sheep

When things get tough to navigate, it can be tempting to turn a blind eye and plug our ears… even when it comes to our kids. We’re busy, we’re overwhelmed, and we don’t know what to do… so we do nothing. We say they’ll be fine. We say their leaders or teachers will take care of them. We may even say God will take care of them, and He will… but we have a part to play in it, too. And if we truly desire freedom for our children, we will step up to the plate.

We are the ones with authority over their lives. We have more right than anyone to pray and believe God’s Word for our children and see His promises come to pass. As we ask the Lord for help and decide to follow Him, He will show us how to pray in faith and how to take action.

If we need more help in prayer, we can find books like, “The Power of a Praying Parent,” by Stormie O’Martian. We can even research how to pray God’s Word and His Promises for our children.

It seems like it’s not going to work, especially when we first get started. It’s hard to keep up with the extra time and effort it takes to put everything aside and pray, but it’s worth it. We will get so much fulfillment out of stepping into our role as intercessor for our kids. And the more we do it, the more our faith will grow for their circumstances! If we ask God to help us see signs of change in their lives, He will. He desires to encourage us every step of the way!

Cast Upon All Waters

We must not take a passive role in the raising of our children, or we will reap the consequences later. The Bible says to “cast our bread upon the waters” (Ecclesiastes 11:1), which means to sow seeds of faith in every direction, even without an immediate return. To me this means taking action in addition to prayer… sort of coming at the issue from all sides, if that makes sense.

In addition to prayer, we may also pray for God to lead us into further things:

• Have conversations. Honestly, calmly, and respectfully say what needs to be said without coming to harmful words we can’t take back. Tell them the truth, give them biblical wisdom. Truth gives change a leg to stand on.
  
• Spend time with them. Spend time not talking about the issues at hand. Playing games or doing activities together will strengthen the bond and build rapport. It’s okay to start small, but remember to build from there. It’s consistent time they need. Hit or miss will only make it worse.
  
• Laugh with them. Laughter is the best medicine for wounded souls and hurting hearts. Remember what it was like to be silly with them. Find funny memes, make stupid jokes, wrestle and roughhouse with them. Laughter takes the pressure off.
  
• Love them. Tell them you love them every single day. Tell them three things you love about them. Hug them and kiss them on the cheek. Even our sons need that from mom and dad. Check the boxes of all five love languages until you find their top two… then use them at least once or twice a week. Love them without strings attached, and without reminding them of their mistakes. Above all else, they need love.
  
• Help them. If stress has backed up their laundry and turned their room into a wreck, instead of yelling at them to get it done and adding to their distress, take the time to help them do it. Step in to handle their mountain of laundry… wash it, fold it, put it away. Work with them to clean and reorganize their room without complaining or reminding them of their failures. It’s temporary, but it will help take the pressure off. Acts of service are acts of love.
  
• Enlist help from others. Ask trusted friends to pray. Seek wise advice from a trusted Pastor, a strong believer, or a biblical counselor. Don’t let shame silence or isolate you from getting the help you need. We’re all in this together.
  

This is how we lay down our lives for our loved ones on behalf of the Good Shepherd. We ask God for His help, we do everything we can, and we let God do the rest. This is how they discover how great God’s love is for them! They see it in the love of their parents, loved ones, or leaders.

When that love is challenged and we feel we cannot connect, we must remember that private, faith-filled prayer is the real work going on behind the scenes. God can speak to them in the center of their hearts, and He loves them more than we do. We pray until we see His hope on the horizon, and then we keep praying until we feel His peace… and then we keep praying until we see breakthrough happening before our eyes.

In all these ways, we are standing in the way of the wolf. He cannot have them, in Jesus’ name.

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

Psalm 23:4-5 AMP